Ted
2012
**
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh
In 1985, an 8-year-old boy's wish made his beloved teddy bear come alive. In the present day, John is a 35-year-old manchild who is still inseparable from his stoner friend Ted, but his long-suffering girlfriend Lori is starting to run out of patience. However, this is not a story about an immature, deadbeat loser who grows up, but a story about an immature, deadbeat loser whose smart and incredibly gorgeous girlfriend regresses to his level so they can live happily ever after. Seth MacFarlane made his name on television as the creator of Family Guy and American Dad. His feature film debut is a fantasy comedy (in many senses of the word) which follows in the footsteps of Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith and, it seems, almost every modern comedy filmmaker who believe that mixing rude jokes and mushy family values is the only way to go about it. The idea of a pot smoking, dirty-talking stuffed animal is hilarious for a few minutes, although Paul pulled the same exact gag with an alien a year earlier, but Ted's offensive behaviour is the film's one and only source of humour. The thriller subplot and the car chase are dispensable distractions. Followed by a sequel.
